One Piece Fic (CH25) (Patreon)

A salvo of cannon-fire rang in the air, accompanied by the scent of gunpowder. The Baroque Works agents scrambled to intercept them—mostly those with devil-fruit abilities. Jack was among them, snatching one out of the air, spinning in place and sending it back where it came from. It smashed against the hull, producing a loud metallic sound. However, the surface was only dented.

His expression was annoyed.

"I wondered how they caught up with us, but is seems that ship is something else."

Though the words were meant for Ace, Crocodile was the one who replied.

"Stop wasting time here. Deal with the marines."

Jack's eyebrow twitched.

"I can't exactly fly, and jumping would all but sink this rickety ship."

Crocodile tsked. He looked at Ace.

"Don't tell me you're just as useless."

Ace shrugged.

"Can't we just wait for them to get closer?"

"They won't. Not when staying at range gives them and advantage. They can easily sink us from there."

Jack raised a finger.

"Not if they run out of ammo."

"...they won't. That class of battleship carries enough munitions to blow an island sky-high."

Glancing from Crocodile to Jack, Ace sighed.

"Fine. We'll board them. But you bastards better not leave us behind. We'll sell your asses out in a second!"

Crocodile said nothing, slowly dragging on his cigar, but that response seemed enough for Ace.

He looked at Jack.

"Ready?"

"As much as I'll ever be."

"Yosh. Then let's give 'em hell."

Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed Jack's arm, leaping into the air. Half-transforming into fire, he soared into the sky, leaving a trail of flame in his wake.

Jack looked down at the water, a faint frown between his eyebrows. The marines seemed a little too confident to him. If a fight broke out, the Baroque Works agents would win. They simply had more heavy-hitters on their side. The only tie-breaker the marines had was... marine-officer Hina.

Jack grunted. Her devil-fruit was well-suited to subduing large groups of people. Most wouldn't be able to escape those steel bindings.

With the ship quickly drawing closer, he tried to think of a plan, but there wasn't any time. He decided to wing it.

"You deal with smoker. I'll handle the woman."

Ace laughed.

"You're still thinking of stuff like that, even know? I don't know if I should be impressed or disappointed."

Shaking his head, Jack didn't say anything. It seems he'd developed a bit of a reputation with girls. And to be honest... he wouldn't mind playing around with Hina, but it seemed a stretch. She disliked pirates, and she was into Smoker anyway.

"...ready. Set. Go!"

Ace interrupted his thoughts, hurling him toward one of the figures standing on the prow.

Flying through the air, Jack guarded his face with one arm. He was showered by a hail of bullets, but the pinged off him like BB shots. He kept his eyes fixed on Hina. With her pink hair, she was difficult to miss.

"Targeting Hina directly? For a pirate, you have admirable courage-...!"

Swinging her arms, she extended a branching network of metal bars. They closed in around Jack like a cage. If it hadn't been for his power of observation, he might've been caught then and there.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he grabbed one for leverage, correcting course mid-air. He plummeted toward Hina, colliding with her head-on. The collision shattered the deck under her, the two of them hitting the metallic hull. There was a loud thud, the steel frame groaning as it dented.

Jack quickly leapt backward. Being in grapple-range wasn't a good idea. He wasn't confident he could escape if she covered him in a few layers of metal.

Hina put a hand on her knee, getting up without much difficulty. Her maroon suit was torn, revealing a stretch of midriff. Her skin glinted with a dull grey color, showing no damage.

Jack huffed.

"What a tough woman. I can already tell this is going to be annoying..."

Standing, Hina flipped her hair. She stared at him coldly.

"Surrender the hostage and turn yourself in. You may still receive a lenient sentence."

Jack chuckled, taking a combat stance.

“That’s not up to me. And even if it were, I wouldn’t hand myself in-…”

“You scum, you dare lay your filthy hands on Hina-sama?!”

He was still talking when an exclamation suddenly came from behind him. A man with dark skin and light pink hair swung his iron-clad fist at Jack’s face, his eyes filled with indignation.

Jack grabbed his wrist easily, lifting his feet off the ground and heaving him above his head. He let go at the trajectory’s apex, letting the marine fly off into the ocean. A scream could be heard, followed by a distant splash.

“It’s best if you keep your subordinates out of this. I won’t be so merciful next time.”

Hina looked over her shoulder at the other men, still pointing their rifles at Jack. She raised her arm.

“Hina will take care of this. Fire on the enemy ship-...”

She was still talking when Jack attacked suddenly, his body swelling with muscle. He punched toward her, his fist breaking through the air. Showing off her reflexes, Hina met him head-on, their collision ringing as loud as a cannon-shot. Before she could initiate a grapple, Jack was already backing off, grabbing a cannon-ball and hurling it at her. She deflected it easily.

He frowned.

“I can’t get too close, and ranged attacks are useless. Your devil-fruit is really something.”

Hina said nothing, simply launching into another attack. Beams of iron extended from her arms, splitting like tree-branches.

Jack’s hands shot out, grabbing onto them. With a grunt, he lifted the steel into the air, Hina included. He spun her once before hurling her out over the ocean. If he could get her in the water, she’d lose her powers—an instant victory for him.

Unfortunately, the tactic didn’t work. The steel beams lengthened further, wrapping around the mast. Hina stopped herself mid-air before retracting the metal, dropping deftly onto the deck.

“Foolish pirate, did you think such tricks would work against Hina?”

At that moment, Jack felt very tempted to ask Ace to switch. If it were him, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting wrapped in a cocoon of steel.

However, in the grand scheme of things, Hina wasn't that strong. How would he make it to the top if he couldn't even deal with her? No, he couldn't back down now. He needed to think of a plan... which was a lot easier said than done in the heat of battle. Wracking his brains while avoiding her attacks, he could only come up with one thing—he needed to sink the boat.

After colliding with her and separating, the sound of ringing steel filling the air, he smirked.

"Pardon me for playing dirty, but you were about to do the same. And I'm a pirate anyway."

Hina scarcely had time to process his words before Jack dived overboard, disappearing under the water's surface.

"What is he doing...?"

Mumbling to herself, Hina's gaze shifted toward Smoker and Ace. They were engaged in the sky above the boat, their elements clashing and extinguishing each other time after time. Arguably, Ace was the stronger one, but the smoke smothered his flames. It wasn't really a good matchup for him.

"Hina will help Smoker-kun deal with that other one in the meantime-..."

She was still talking when the ship suddenly shook, a dull crash coming from below them. Her eyes widened.

"...that scum. He's trying to sink the ship!"

Glancing toward Smoker and confirming he could still hold on, she rushed below deck. Bypassing groups of marines, she could hear the rushing of seawater. The puncture wasn't small. By the time she reached the engine room, the boat was shaking again. Closer to the source, she distinctly heard the sound of cracking metal.

A sailor pointed toward the opposite side of the room, his eyes full of worry.

"The breach is there, Hina-sama!"

Not wasting time, she produced a slab of metal, laying it over the fist-sized hole. The crew quickly rushed in to bolt and weld it. Then it was on to the second one. However, Jack didn't let up. He kept perforating the hull, displaying remarkable stamina.

One of the men cursed under his breath, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Damn this bastard, how long can he hold his breath? This is ridiculous!"

"Shut your traps and keep working. Do you louts want to end up on the bottom of the ocean?"

"My apologies, Hina-sama!"

Despite her rebuke, Hina hadn't quite managed to keep the frustration out of her voice. They were managing to reseal the hull, but a lot of water was still leaking in before that.

"What are you waiting for? Start up the pumps right now!"

The marines hurried to comply, scurrying back and forth. Soon, the smell of diesel filled the interior, accompanying the whirr of machines. The water level started dropping, going from their knees to mid-calf.

Hina pinched the bridge of her nose. It was going to be a battle of attrition. Would he give out first, our would their machines stall for a lack of fuel. Though, perhaps the battle above-deck would conclude before that.

Hina had almost fallen into a routine as an improvised steel-manufacturing-plant when a cacophony of noise came from upstairs. Shouting and yelling, mixed with the clanging of weapons and gunfire filled the air. Cries of pain followed, sounding like they came from her own men.

She clicked her tongue.

"The pirates are boarding. Any men we can spare should go to the upper-deck immediately-..."

Still in the middle of her sentence, a man stumbled down the stairs. He lost his balance, falling the rest of the way.

"C-Captain... they're already-... Argh!"

Suddenly, a hardened spike of wax shot out from the top hatch, piercing into his back. He died in front of everyone's eyes, a pool of blood slowly expanding under him.

"Kukuku~... What a fool. To believe he could escape from me, Mr. 3!"

An annoying face appeared at the top of the stairs, looking down on them with disdain.

"Perhaps I should floor this room with wax and watch as you all suffocate! That would be truly amusing."

Hina glanced from the dead marine to him. Her expression was one of barely contained rage.

"Hina would have offered you leniency in any other situation but... right now, she wants nothing more than to witness your execution personally. She will settle for throwing you in a cell without food and water for a week at least."

Extending her arms, bars of iron shot out, twisting toward Mr. 3.

"Such a straightforward attack won't work on me!"

Meeting her assault head on, he produced a wall of wax, blocking off the passage. However, he hadn't quite been fast enough. Hina's metal 'noodles' found gaps at the edges, spiraling to wrap around his arms.

Mr. 3's eyes widened in alarm.

"You sneaky woman-..."

He lost his balance before he could continue speaking, the steel's weight drawing him toward the ground. When his knee hit the floor, his arms were already bound tightly against his body. Enraged, his gaze flicked toward Hina only to see his wax wall cracking and shattering, another beam emerging to smash into his face.

Mr. 3 had many talents, but a durable body wasn't one of them. His head whipped back, his nose breaking and teeth cracking. Droplets of blood splattered against the ship's hull.

Clambering onto the deck, Hina's foot came down on his back. Her devil-fruit wrapped things up in a literal sense, practically entombing Mr. 3 in a coffin of steel. Within seconds, not even one hair of his was visible. Looking around and seeing the poor state of her sailors, she growled. Baroque Works had made good use of her and Smoker's distraction, decisively turning the tide of battle in their favor.

"Hina has no choice but to solve this herself. The rest of you—make sure Hina doesn't even get her boots wet or everyone is getting their pay docked!"

The workers behind her saluted in unison.

"""Yes ma'am!"""

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